Build Guide by Kdogz22

About This Build

This is my first guide ever so cut me some slack >.<!

As far as Maokai is concerned,while he is viable as AP champ, he is more valuable to the team if he builds himself as a tank. This build focuses mainly on the use of him as a tank and not as a AP champ!

Pros/ Cons

PROS
-Super Disruptive skills like his Ultimate
-Very fun character to play
-Very strong tank
-Has the power to throw crazy little bombs!
-Can use W for running away

CONS
-Not as powerful or as sturdy as pure tanks like Shen and Amumu
-Cant really output loads of damage (like most tanks)
-Has mana problems early on in the game
-Ignite hurts him tooo much (jokes)

Runes

These is very useful for last hitting and turret destroying

Greater Seal of Regeneration These lets you stay in lane much longer than usual

These are a must as they help you to sustain mana!

These just make Maokai soooo much more beefier

Masteries

Masteries are a usual 0/21/9 for a tank. If you really want to use exhaust u can go 9/21/0!

make sure u max out veteran's scar and ardor also taking 4 point for awareness and 1 for improved ghost!

Summoner Spells

Summoner spells I use:

Ghost is a must on Maokai! it lets you chase down those squishy *****es whilst letting u run away from people like lumberjack Sion!

Ignite is always a nice spell to have as it allows you to turret dive with ease along with your spells and your Ultimate

Other viable Summoner spells

flash is useful for getting behind your enemy to knock them back with your Q, kinda of like Alistair's W. It is also handy for running away from enemy champs but is somewhat bad late game as your too tanky to be looked at

Exhaust is nice to have to stop those melee carries from destroying your carries! It also always you to chase down enemy champs but is kinda of wasted as your Q and W help you do that. It is an interesting spell to use but not as useful as ignite!

Cleanse is always a nice spell to have but is wasted on Maokai as your Ult mixed with your Mega tankyness makes most people avoid you!


Fortify is always a good spell to have with you as it gives you the option to leave a tower to buy etc.

Mana is a big problem for Maokai if you don't have the Mp5 runes and your philosophers stone, it is nice to have it for early game but drops off near late game.

Summoner spells to avoid

Teleport is basically useless as your Hp and Mana regen are soo high that you only really need to go back after raping someone in the face or farming up a lot of gold :D

As your passive already heals you for 7% of your max Hp (8.4% with spirit visage!) , it is somewhat useless having Heal as your health is constantly recharged which means you don't really need it!

Clairvoyance isn't required for Maokai as Sapling toss already gives you Line of Sight (LOS) for 25 seconds, thus rendering it useless.

Smite is not at all useful for any non jungle character, as it only lets u kill 1 minion every minute which is a waste of a summoner spell.

Rally is one of the most useless spells for a tank as they do not need extra Attack Dmg.

Revive is revive.... only needed for ******ed players or some chars like rammus, eve and pantheon!

Abilities and how to use them

here i will explain what his abilities do and how to use them :D

Sap Magic

This is Maoakai's passive ability. Whenever he or another champion around him uses an ability, he gains a magic sap charge. When he reaches 5 charges his next attacks will heal him for 7% of his max hp.

How to use Magic Sap

Basically all you do is try and Attack a minions whenever you have full charges, its great for letting you stay in lane!

Arcane Smash

Arcane Smash This is Maokai's Q ability. Fundamentally this is a line/wave skill-shot which repulses anyone close to Maokai and slows everyone in a line.

How to use Arcane Smash
This skill is very good at catching enemy champs as at lvl 5 it slows for 41%! you can farm with it but not at early levels as it will drain your mana rapidly. The use of this skill shot can make or break a team fight if you can successfully aim at at an enemy carry to disrupt them e.g. Twitch and Ezreal

Twisted Advance

This is Maokai's W ability. Basically it moves/ teleports Maokai to an enemy unit or champions,rendering you untargetable for the duration of the movement and roots them in place for 2 seconds (at lvl 5).

How to use Twisted Advance

Always aim the enemy carry with this to root them in place while your carries destroy them. If you use Q straight after W they will b stunned for 3 seconds thus enabling your team to smash them. Never ever farm with his ability as it wastes A LOT of mana. You can also use this ability on enemy minions to run away from enemy champs.

Sapling Toss

this is Maokai's e ability basically he throws out a sapling which wards an area for 25 seconds, if an enemy unit enters it radius it activates and run towards them blowing up on impact on the first enemy unit it hits.

How to use Sapling Toss

Always get this skill first off. use it to scout enemy bushes and in some rare instances to tower dive the enemy. The great thing about them is that they are untargetable and thus are rendered invincible till they blow up! this is great for searching for enemy champs under towers etc. One problem is that it doesn't prioritize enemy champs! By lvl 6 or so u can harass them with this ability, but it wont do much damage.

Vengeful Maelstrom


This is Maokai's R ability (ult). he throws down a circle (roughly smaller than nunu's ult) which shields allies from 20% of all non tower based damage. Any damage the shield absorbs will be stored and then explodes when you toggle your ult. It consumes Mana per second and will fade if Maokai is too far from it.

How to use Vengeful Maelstrom

Throw down the circle a few seconds AFTER a team fights start, to ensure that all abilities are cast within it. Once the teams start to break away toggle it again to explode its damage. Make sure that most if not all of your team is standing inside of it to receive its bonuses. It is a waste of mana to try and cast this to kill 1 person as it doesn't absorb much damage so it wont hurt them a lot.

Items

Item explanation

helps you to stay in lane much longer than usual
useful to ward of harassment
early movement speed is essential
philosopher's stone This give Maokai superior Hp and mana regen to stay out in lane soooo much longer
you might be screaming nooob atm but this synergises sooo well with your passive boosting it up to 8.4%. It also gives you the extra Hp, magic resist and CDR needed to stay out in the lane forever.
best boots for any tank as it reduces most cc effects by 35% which is just toooo good.
Added Hp and armor just make Maokai soo much more tankier!
even more Hp, Mana and regen mixed with its passive and even mooore CDR makes this item a MUST for Maokai.
along with its massive Hp regen and passive, its MR makes u untouchable to Ap carries.
this just makes you the scariest ***** out there >.<

If the opponents team is full AP u can switch out the sunfire cape for a Banshee's veil or if the opponents team is full AD u can switch out the Force of nature for either a thornmail or a randuin's omen

Tips for playing Maokai

Your a TANK! dont be scared to turret dive or initiate fights if you know your teams gunna rape!

Always try and use Twisted advance on the highest dmg output carry on their team to scare them and let your team tear them apart :D

Always use your sapling toss to scout the dragon,baron,your main buffs and enemy bushes etc

Always cast your ult in team fights to protect your allies and potentially hurt the enemy champs A LOT

Wins

Here are some wins :D MORE WINS

Conclusion

Maokai is a very strong disruptive tank who is extremely sturdy and fun to play. his main role is to disrupt enemy carries and tank for them team. while he is still viable as an AP champion, i prefer to use him as a tank because he is more useful to the team as a whole and not as a solo champion.

please leave your comments below! if you vote thumbs up then Thanks :) but if you dont please put a reason so i can make improvements :)

GL AND HF!

Kdogz22